10 Things You Didn’t Know About Batman

Some fans and pop culture junkies might like to think that Superman is the most timeless and iconic of all comic book super heroes, but even the man from Krypton who can bend steel with his bare hands doesn’t have the generational reach of Batman.

Unlike most superheroes, he doesn’t have supernatural powers. Bruce Wayne isn’t some mythological being who can fly, shoot lasers out of his body or transmogrify into some other creature. He’s just an ordinary guy using every resource and power he has to fight the good fight to spare humanity the hell he’s been through at the hands of greed and avarice. (Okay, an obscenely rich ordinary guy…) With ‘The Dark Knight Rises‘ in theaters, here’s a look at the unique history of an interesting super hero.

1. Bob Kane didn’t create the Batman we know

It’s true that comic book artist and writer Bob Kane had a hand in bringing The Dark Knight to life, but it was another writer, Bill Finger, who probably had the biggest hand in the character’s creation. According to the book ‘Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers and Heroes in Gotham City,’ Kane had made a name for himself in the comic book industry and often called on Finger to help him with storylines. The publisher of the ‘Detective Comics’ series asked his pool of artists to draft up ideas for a new hit superhero and gave them a weekend to draw and present them.

Kane drafted a masked character with bat wings and the publisher liked the idea, but he needed a story to go with it. Kane called on Finger, who ended up creating the origin story and all the major characters in Batman’s world. (He even suggested Batman’s iconic pointy ears mask and long, black cape design.) Finger went on to help Kane create other characters including most of Batman’s rogues gallery of villains (writer Jerry Robinson created The Joker), gadgets and weapons.

Still, no one at Detective Comics knew Finger existed, so the final credit went to Kane. Batman’s first appearance in ‘Detective Comics’ #27 became a massive hit. Finger continued to work with Kane on the Batman stories throughout his career as Kane’s ghostwriter before leaving to work for DC Comics where he helped create characters such as the Green Lantern.

The “Death in the Family” storyline featured Robin finding his birth mother in Ethopia only to discover that she had turned him over to The Joker. Both ended up being tied up in a warehouse set to explode unless Batman could save them. The cliffhanger inspired DC Comics to set up a toll-free hotline and ask the readers to call in and vote on whether or not the Boy Wonder would make it out of the warehouse alive.

The fans voted 5,343 to 5,271 to put the Boy Wonder down, and so he died in the next issue. However, Todd returned in 2005′s ‘Under the Hood’ story arc as the Red Hood in order to seek bloody revenge against The Joker.

3. Frank Sinatra wanted to play The Joker on the TV show

The world of Batman officially became a cultural touchstone when it leapt off the page and became a massive television hit in the 1960s. Not only did Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) become overnight celebrities, but the villains who got in on the act are probably more remembered and revered for their work on the campy superhero show. Singer Frank Sinatra reportedly wanted to be Batman’s main foe but the role had already gone to Cesar Romero, a rumor that was confirmed by Ward years later in an interview. “From what I understand,” Ward said, “Frank Sinatra was very upset because he couldn’t play The Joker.”

4. Conan O’Brien once tried to steal Robin’s costume in college

The Harvard Lampoon is well known for their on-campus pranks and one of their most famous capers involved Burt Ward’s infamous tights. Ward was invited to speak at Harvard in the 1980s, mostly as a prank by some students to see if the staff would go for it. Ward accepted and spoke before a student body of 250 students and as a special surprise, he also brought the costume he wore on the TV show on a mannequin.

O’Brien, then a student at Harvard and a staff member on the Lampoon, masterminded a plan to steal the costume during the speech by dressing up as security guards pretending to guard the outfit. The Lampoon crew turned off the lights in the middle of Ward’s speech and sent in a large man dressed as the Penguin to pose this riddle to Ward: “When is a security guard not a security guard?” At that point, the fake security guards grabbed the costume and ran for the exit.

Peter Sagal, one of the freshmen who helped organize Ward’s visit and now the host of the NPR quiz show ‘Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me,’ tried to stop them from leaving with the suit but the Lampoon crew made off with the Robin costume. The students prank-called Ward for hours afterwards pretending to be Batman villains, but Ward was a good sport and would answer in Robin-speak, saying, “return it or you will feel my wrath!” Eventually, the costume was returned to him safe and sound.

5. NBC wanted to take over the ‘Batman’ TV series but ABC dismantled the Bat Cave

‘Batman’ only lasted three seasons after the novelty wore off and ABC decided to cancel the campy series. However, there was a chance that another network might be interested in picking up the show, so ABC kept the iconic set in place as they waited for offers. A couple of weeks passed and no offers materialized, so the network ordered that Batman’s “Bat Cave” and other sets be demolished to make way for another show.

Just as the crew finished taking the set apart, NBC submitted an offer to take over the show for another season. Unfortunately, the sets had been destroyed and the Bat Cave alone would cost $800,000 to rebuild, so NBC rescinded the offer.

6. Tim Burton’s first Batman movie was going to feature Robin

1989′s ‘Batman’ was a massive blockbuster that brought an edgier and darker tone to pop culture’s view of the character, thanks in part to Tim Burton’s vision. Unfortunately, it took years to draft a script for the film that Warner Bros. deemed acceptable. One version (written by screenwriter Sam Hamm) included Robin, a role Burton offered to the then-19-year-old Kiefer Sutherland.

Sutherland said he turned down the role because he imagined having to wear bright yellow tights on the big screen and didn’t realize that Burton’s version was much different and darker than the ’60s TV version. Subsequent drafts reduced Robin’s role to a cameo in the form of his alter-ego Dick Grayson before Burton cut the character completely out of the movie. (One deleted sequence, which features Batman and Robin in a chase scene set at a circus, can be viewed in storyboard format on the ‘Batman’ DVD.)

7. Sean Young lost the role of Vicki Vale in ‘Batman’ and tried to force her way into ‘Batman Returns’

Another actor who lost out on a once-in-a-lifetime chance to appear in the massive ‘Batman’ franchise was the notorious Sean Young who was originally cast as Vicki Vale, the reporter who becomes Bruce Wayne’s love interest. While Young was Burton’s first choice to play Vicki, the actress broke her arm while practicing some horseback riding for an action sequence that ended up being deleted from the finished film. Because of the scale of the production, Young had to be replaced by Kim Basinger.

Young was determined not to let another opportunity get away from her and when the sequel, ‘Batman Returns,’ was announced, she organized a massive covert operation to convince Burton to let her play Catwoman. In a now infamous Hollywood moment, the loopy actress showed up to Burton’s production office without any prior warning in a homemade Catwoman costume to lobby for an audition. Instead, she was immediately escorted off the lot. Undeterred, Young appeared on talk shows like ’The Joan Rivers Show’ in the outfit in an effort to win the part, but her one-woman campaign failed and Michelle Pfeiffer ultimately scored the role.

8. The rumor that Batman and Robin were gay came from a psychologist bent on destroying comic books

Any pop culture property that involves two men or women living together for an extended period of time seems to automatically attract theories about a homosexual relationship. The questions about the Dynamic Duo’s “questionable” relationship actually date back to one man: Dr. Fredric Wertham.

In the 1950s, the psychologist was to comic books what Jack Thompson is to video games. Wertham led a massive crusade to regulate and outright ban horror, crime and adventure comic books by publishing ‘Seduction of the Innocent,’ a scathing “scientific” review of these titles and the effect they had on juvenile delinquency and indecency. The book led to a Congressional inquiry on the comic book industry and the formation of the Comics Code ratings system, regulations which ran many publishers out of business.

Wertham claimed that the Dynamic Duo were secretly homosexuals because of the therapy work he did in his New York clinic with “sexually maladjusted individuals” who often read ‘Batman’ comics and expressed sexual and romantic feelings towards The Caped Crusader. He was led to believe that Batman and Robin’s relationship exhibited some kind of “adolescent-with-adult or Ganymede/Zeus type of love relationship.”

9. The town of Batman, Turkey threatened to sue the makers of ‘The Dark Knight’

Christopher Nolan’s brilliant revival of the Batman film series after the dismal releases of Joel Schumacher’s ‘Batman Forever’ and ‘Batman & Robin’ breathed new life into a movie hero that most thought would never again see the light of day (or the dark of night). It also attracted threats of an interesting lawsuit.

The book ‘Batman Unauthorized’ examined exactly what it would cost to develop and carry all the gadgets and goodies that Batman uses. Turns out, the total came out to around $300 million. (Though other figures put the total at around $700 million.) That includes $3.5 million to convert a bomb shelter into a Bat Cave and $2 million to turn a Cadillac Sixteen into a 32-valve, V-16 1,000 horsepower Batmobile.

And that’s before adding all of the defensive options to the Batmobile (or Bat Tumbler) such as rear smokescreen shooters and missile launchers and a Kevlar infused, custom molded Batsuit for at least $45,000. So unless you inherit a vast estate from your late parents, it’s safe to say you’ll be sticking with your homemade tights and mask.